Official NCAA Lacrosse Tournament Thread

[IrishLax]

#1 Syracuse vs. Siena
#2 Cornell vs. Hartford
#3 Hopkins vs. Hofstra
#4 Notre Dame vs. Penn
#5 Duke vs. Delaware
#6 Denver vs. Villanova
#7 Virginia vs. Bucknell
#8 UNC vs. Maryland

I like the first round matchup for Notre Dame at home. I think we can handle the quakers... we are very similar teams but Notre Dame is just a bit stronger at each position.

UNC vs. Maryland is a crazy good matchup in the first round... and Syracuse should have their hands full with whoever wins. My upset pick of the first round is Hofstra over Hopkins... setting up Denver to make a run to the final four which would be nuts.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[ACamp1900]

My thoughts are thanks for putting this up... hopefully some of these games will go National so I can catch them.

 

[NDIrishlover3]

This does seem like a very winnable matchup for us which is good. However, I just don't see Hofstra beating Hopkins, but that might only be because I have not watched Hofstra play at all this year

 

[NDinL.A.]

Thoughts anyone?

I know very little to nothing about lacrosse (we just don't play it much out here on the west coast), but last year was fun watching the team upset everyone on their way to the finals. Hopefully the fellas can put together another run...

 

[IrishLax]

This does seem like a very winnable matchup for us which is good. However, I just don't see Hofstra beating Hopkins, but that might only be because I have not watched Hofstra play at all this year

Yeah, they got very little exposure but they have the goalie and horses on attack to beat a very overrated Hopkins if they don't give up transition goals. Where Hopkins has a huge advantage is in the athleticism of their midfielders... so if Hofstra can make it a half field game it should be a good one. But that's a big "if."

 

[irishfan]

Lay some predictions on us IrishLax.

 

[IrishLax]

Lay some predictions on us IrishLax.

Hah ok... I'll start for those of you that live in Vegas. The odds haven't been published yet, but I expect UVa to be an INSANE value bet. If you're a gambling man, bet on the Cavs if they come in around 8:1 as a #7 seed. Since they kicked their best players off the team a couple weeks ago, they are playing truly inspired team lacrosse. If you're looking for a smart money bet, take Syracuse if they come in 3:1 or better because watching them play multiple times this year and knowing a couple guys on the team... they are without question the best team in Division I. Ever since the coach's son (Desko) got hurt and taken out of the starting lineup at attack... their offense has exploded. Palasek is just so much more creative than Desko and they already have a great finisher in Keogh so there really isn't room for two guys who can't beat their man and rely on other people to get their offense. Imagine the Dallas Mavericks with two Peja stojakovics instead of Jason Kidd and Peja... it's just common sense why the new attack line is dominating everyone (including putting up 11 goals on Notre Dame which is unheard of). In all seriousness, if there is one sport to bet on, it's lacrosse because the market is relatively uninformed. That's not saying that aren't surprises, but for the most part it's easier to spot what odds are set incorrectly.

As for everyone else...

I think Notre Dame wins their first game and loses to Duke in the second round. I say this largely because it is very hard to beat a team twice and we are not 100% healthy coming into this post season. We are not a deep team and we need Max Pfeifer to be able to go in the midfield because he is a great compliment to Brenneman and Earl. If we come into the Duke game 100%, it'll be a dog fight and probable have a final score somewhere in the 11-9 range.

In terms of who is playing the best lacrosse right now, it's Syracuse #1 and Duke #2 followed closely by UVa and Cornell. Hopkins and Notre Dame round out the top 6 teams I feel really have a good chance at winning the national championship. Denver, Villanova, Bucknell, Hofstra, Maryland and UNC all have the talent to make a final four run.... but with each of them has a tough road and in the case of Denver/Villanova they also have some big time injuries to their offensive quarterbacks.

 

[irishfan]

Hah ok... I'll start for those of you that live in Vegas. The odds haven't been published yet, but I expect UVa to be an INSANE value bet. If you're a gambling man, bet on the Cavs if they come in around 8:1 as a #7 seed. Since they kicked their best players off the team a couple weeks ago, they are playing truly inspired team lacrosse. If you're looking for a smart money bet, take Syracuse if they come in 3:1 or better because watching them play multiple times this year and knowing a couple guys on the team... they are without question the best team in Division I. Ever since the coach's son (Desko) got hurt and taken out of the starting lineup at attack... their offense has exploded. Palasek is just so much more creative than Desko and they already have a great finisher in Keogh so there really isn't room for two guys who can't beat their man and rely on other people to get their offense. Imagine the Dallas Mavericks with two Peja stojakovics instead of Jason Kidd and Peja... it's just common sense why the new attack line is dominating everyone (including putting up 11 goals on Notre Dame which is unheard of). In all seriousness, if there is one sport to bet on, it's lacrosse because the market is relatively uninformed. That's not saying that aren't surprises, but for the most part it's easier to spot what odds are set incorrectly.

As for everyone else...

I think Notre Dame wins their first game and loses to Duke in the second round. I say this largely because it is very hard to beat a team twice and we are not 100% healthy coming into this post season. We are not a deep team and we need Max Pfeifer to be able to go in the midfield because he is a great compliment to Brenneman and Earl. If we come into the Duke game 100%, it'll be a dog fight and probable have a final score somewhere in the 11-9 range.

In terms of who is playing the best lacrosse right now, it's Syracuse #1 and Duke #2 followed closely by UVa and Cornell. Hopkins and Notre Dame round out the top 6 teams I feel really have a good chance at winning the national championship. Denver, Villanova, Bucknell, Hofstra, Maryland and UNC all have the talent to make a final four run.... but with each of them has a tough road and in the case of Denver/Villanova they also have some big time injuries to their offensive quarterbacks.

Nice, thanks. I think for the most part this forum is like everywhere else, where for the most part everyone is interested in lacrosse, but pretty uninformed like you mentioned. Looking forward to seeing how ND ends up doing.

 

[IrishLax]

Who wants to make some money!?! (looking at you NDinNV)

NCAA First-Round Odds Courtesy of Wynn Casino | InsideLacrosse.com

Take Syracuse -5.5 and bet your house on it. Thank me later. This game will probably be something like 12-4 final score.

 

[IrishLax]

Notre Dame up 8-5 at halftime right now. 2nd half starting on ESPNU soon if anyone cares.

 

[NDIrishlover3]

We have really owned this game which is great to see

 

[DomeX2 eNVy]

Who wants to make some money!?! (looking at you NDinNV)

NCAA First-Round Odds Courtesy of Wynn Casino | InsideLacrosse.com

Take Syracuse -5.5 and bet your house on it. Thank me later. This game will probably be something like 12-4 final score.

I'm all over this.

What sport is it?

J/k.
I never played other than fooling around on the quad, but one of my best friends was on the lax team. The games were fun to watch

 

[IrishLax]

Impressive win. Penn was lucky to get 5 in the first half. Absolutely brilliant personnel adjustments on offense... going to be a very tough road to win the title but if we continue to play that way we should have a good shot.

 

[IrishLax]

I'm all over this.

What sport is it?

J/k.
I never played other than fooling around on the quad, but one of my best friends was on the lax team. The games were fun to watch

So do you now own a second house or did you pass on the lacrosse action?

 

[ab2cmiller]

Maryland Terrapins Lacrosse Hidden Ball Trick against UNC
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WwtdJ2ud4_Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[IrishLax]

Games kicking off today on ESPN2. Notre Dame plays tomorrow at 2:30 on ESPNU. If you're a betting man, here are my picks:

Cornell -1.5 over UVa
Johns Hopkins -1 over Denver (looks like no Todd Baxter for Denver... very few realize what kind of catalyst he is)
Syracuse -140 over Maryland (this line should be something more like -250 for Syracuse... so extremely favorable odds here)
Notre Dame -130 over Duke (game could go either way but I think the difference ends up being the fact that John Kemp is a much better goalie than Mike Rock or Dan Wigrizer so all things being equal that should equate to a couple goals).

Live Lines, Live Odds, NFL lines, College Football lines, NBA lines, College basketball lines, MLB lines, Basesball Lines provided by Sportbet

If I had to make one bet, it would be Syracuse. Their seniors have already won 2 championships... they're the best team in the nation playing the toughest schedule and only losing once... I've got a couple friends on both teams and while Maryland could win it is highly improbable.

 

[Steve]

Games kicking off today on ESPN2. Notre Dame plays tomorrow at 2:30 on ESPNU. If you're a betting man, here are my picks:

Cornell -1.5 over UVa
Johns Hopkins -1 over Denver (looks like no Todd Baxter for Denver... very few realize what kind of catalyst he is)
Syracuse -140 over Maryland (this line should be something more like -250 for Syracuse... so extremely favorable odds here)
Notre Dame -130 over Duke (game could go either way but I think the difference ends up being the fact that John Kemp is a much better goalie than Mike Rock or Dan Wigrizer so all things being equal that should equate to a couple goals).

Live Lines, Live Odds, NFL lines, College Football lines, NBA lines, College basketball lines, MLB lines, Basesball Lines provided by Sportbet

If I had to make one bet, it would be Syracuse. Their seniors have already won 2 championships... they're the best team in the nation playing the toughest schedule and only losing once... I've got a couple friends on both teams and while Maryland could win it is highly improbable.

good call


woooo

 

[NDLacrosse]

MARYLAND BEAT CUSE!!!!

 

[NDLacrosse]

ND up 3-1 after first quarter
Westy Hopkins with 2 G
Eric Keppeler with 1 G

 

[Sherm Sticky]

I feel like ND dominated in the first half, but the Duke goalie keeps the score 3-3.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Stupid Duke!

 

[IrishLax]

good call


woooo

Epic fail on my part lol. The four best teams all lost this weekend. Cornell and Hopkins both got totally out-schemed/coached. Missed both games today on a plane ride back from Central America... I need to watch the replay of both these games because from the live blogs it basically looks like Maryland used stall ball the entire game against Syracuse... which is utterly disappointing but I understand how Maryland (who has a lot of talent) couple win a close one against Syracuse team in a game with limited possessions.

As for the Irish, I'm sorely disappointed. Had 8 text messages in my inbox when I got off the plain and turned on my phone... sounds like Notre Dame really had a good first half but Dan Freaking Wigrizer stood on his head and made a bunch of saves he typically doesn't make. Also sounds like Duke went to holding the ball and dominated possession in the latter parts of the game. Oh well. Sucks because we graduate so much talent next year that we're probably going to struggle to make the playoffs but in 2013 when Kemp is a senior we should have a really good shot at another title run.

The worst part of all of this? With both 'Cuse and ND getting knocked out I lost all of my connections for Final Four tickets. Soooooo weak

 

[IrishLax]

Cool read: Program-Record Six Irish Players Garner USILA All-America Honors - University of Notre Dame Official Athletics Site

Pretty successful season in retrospect... just a bad beat in the playoffs.

Games start at 4PM today on ESPN2... going to be a lot of good lacrosse but not many teams I care about. I despise both Duke and Maryland. Denver is a good story but if they win it all that's going to really hurt Notre Dame in its recruiting efforts. UVa has been snakebit for years so I guess I wouldn't mind seeing them grab a title.

For betting... maybe stay far away from my picks after that awful 0-4 the other day... but:

Duke +1.5 over Maryland
Virginia -135 over Denver

Live Lines, Live Odds, NFL lines, College Football lines, NBA lines, College basketball lines, MLB lines, Basesball Lines provided by Sportbet